Menoturals; NF and FFF

Welcome to the day when the LLB gang's Nature Friday meets up with my own FFF...

In this one, I bring you an intriguing piece of lumber that Mac1 'rescued' from a storm pile because she saw potential for producing some artworks from it... Sooooo, this is a two-part posting, really. Today I will share some close-up peeks at the log itself, in an attempt at some level of photographic artistry. Note the grain, the marks from the saws that severed it, the patina from the couple of years it has spent on the wood pile... and how, at this intimate level, it echoes landscapes... cliffs, canyons, caves, river runs...

It was sitting on the outdoor table, which has developed its own level of 'patina'... creating interesting patterns and contours. Come back for Monday's post, which will share the artist at work...

Menosukhi; Clever Clover

This latest news is a tad behind because I had other things to share... but lacking anything else major for today's post, here it is...

Menoizikul; Midweek Musicalisms

Okay, here's the thing... Along with The Planets, pretty much everything from JS Bach, some Arvo Pärt, music of Tallis (the old and the new), throw in some Sabaton and Jethro Tull, some Chopin and Gershwin... to my desert island playlist must be added what, to me, is the greatest of Verdi's works. Que? 

The Requiem! 

I heard this first in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. I've attended performances of it in Sydney, Brisbane, and again in Sydney. I have three or four different renditions on my playlist... For my ear, it beats the notes off of Mozart's, Brahms, or Fauré's (or the much later Britten). Now, the whole thing is about an hour and a half. I am going to give it to you here, but will whet your appetite first with this little burst from the Deus Irae. The snippet should be enough to get the juices flowing. The whole thing is simply horripilating. Honestly, if you don't get goosebumps from listening to this work, I may have failed...